The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

Grandpa Ling immediately said seriously, "Tell me. Weiwei, as long as it's something this old man can do..."

Qi Weiwei said softly, "I need to know the current situation of Tang Tiantian's biological mother, their family relationships, and who their children are—of course, it's unlikely they raised the children in their own home. But maybe there are clues. I know this is like finding a needle in a haystack, but we need to find out the basics."

After she finished speaking, the study fell into dead silence.

Only the fire in the stove was burning, and the aroma of tea was wafting through the air.

Ling Heping hesitated several times before speaking.

After a long silence, Grandpa Ling finally spoke, his voice heavy: "Weiwei, you've had such a hard life! Wait, the Tang family… Tang Qu's son? Tang Qu is no good. How could your grandfather have married you off to such a hellhole?"

Qi Weiwei smiled wryly: "It was my fault for being so immature."

Grandpa Ling closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his eyes were clear again, but with a coldness in them: "Your grandfather and I have a life-or-death bond. His granddaughter is my granddaughter."

He looked at Ling Heping: "Heping."

Ling Heping immediately stood up: "Grandpa."

"You're in charge of this." Grandpa Ling's voice brooked no argument. "Use all the connections you have to help Weiwei find her child."

"Yes!" Ling Heping stood at attention, his voice firm and clear.

He then looked at Qi Weiwei, his gaze softening: "Weiwei, don't worry. In this small corner of Shandong Province, Grandpa Ling's word still carries some weight. We will definitely find your daughter for you."

Qi Weiwei's tears finally fell.

She stood up and bowed deeply to Grandpa Ling: "Thank you, Grandpa Ling..."

He bowed again to Ling Heping: "Thank you, Brother Heping..."

Ling Heping quickly supported her: "Don't be like this, Weiwei. Relax. What's done is done, let's minimize its negative impact."

He paused, looked at Qi Weiwei, and said with a firm gaze, "Don't worry, I will find out the whole story about Tang Tiantian bringing back two children in three days at most."

Qi Weiwei nodded emphatically, tears streaming down her face.

This time, they were warm tears.

Qi Weiwei stayed in Grandpa Ling's courtyard for three days.

Every morning, Grandpa Ling would pull her to practice boxing, saying that she needed to exercise.

They even forced her to drink milk.

The air in Shandong Province is crisp and cold in the early morning.

The milk that Sister Chen brought was steaming hot, with a layer of milk skin on top.

Qi Weiwei drank her milk while looking around the entire yard.

The courtyard was indeed very large, a typical northern courtyard house with blue bricks and gray tiles. In the center of the courtyard stood an old locust tree, its bare branches pointing towards the gray sky.

The main house has five rooms, and there are three rooms each in the east and west wings, all of which are equipped with bright glass windows.

The study is in the east wing, spacious and bright, visible through the window. Several rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stand against the wall, filled with books, some of which are thread-bound.

A large mahogany desk was placed in front of the window, covered with a felt mat, and complete with all the traditional writing implements.

There's also a sofa against the wall, made of dark brown leather. It looks a bit old, but it's very well maintained.

Grandpa Ling spends most of his time in his study, reading, writing, and occasionally receiving visitors.

She genuinely liked Grandpa Ling.

He was a gentle and composed old man who spoke slowly and deliberately, but his eyes were bright and clear, and he looked at people with a kind of all-knowing clarity.

Qi Weiwei could sense that this old man must have been a formidable figure in his youth, but now that he was older, he had tempered his sharpness, though his wisdom remained.

Ling Heping has not shown up for the past three days, saying he went to "take care of some business".

Qi Weiwei knew that he had gone to investigate Tang Tiantian's hometown.

On the evening of the third day, just as it was getting dark, the sound of a jeep engine came from outside the courtyard gate.

A moment later, Ling Heping pushed the door open and came in.

He was covered in dust, his military overcoat splattered with mud, and his face was dusty, but his eyes remained bright, even showing a hint of excitement.

"Grandpa, Weiwei, Big Brother, I'm back!" he shouted as soon as he entered the door, his voice loud and clear.

Sister Chen quickly came out of the kitchen and handed him a hot towel.

Ling Heping wiped his face, drank a large glass of hot water, and then sat down on the sofa.

"How is it?" Grandpa Ling asked, putting down the book he was holding.

Qi Weiwei and Qi Zhuangzhuang also looked at him nervously.

Ling Heping took out a notebook from his pocket, opened it, and began to speak.

He spoke quickly but clearly, thoroughly exposing the Tang family's secrets—

"Tang Tiantian's mother's name is Su Cuilan, from Fengshou Brigade in Shandong Province. Her father died of illness some years ago, and Su Cuilan remarried with her stepfather, Zhou Binwa. This Zhou Binwa is a farmer with an extremely fiery temper, and it is said that he beats his wife and children at the drop of a hat."

"After Su Cuilan remarried, she had four more daughters and one son. Before she gave birth to her son, she was almost beaten to death once. All four daughters are married, none of them live far away, the farthest being the next commune. Her son is still single. All four daughters are married, and the youngest just gave birth and is still in confinement."

"I stayed in Fengshou Brigade for three days, under the pretense of buying oddly shaped gourds, and stayed at Aunt Wu's house next to Su Cuilan's house. I observed all the children I could see—Su Cuilan's grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a total of 11, all in the brigade. The children in the countryside are raised roughly and dressed in tattered clothes, but I didn't hear of any child being particularly abused; they were all normal farm children."

Ling Heping looked up at Qi Weiwei as he finished speaking: "Weiwei, I've observed them carefully. None of these children look like city kids, or like...yours, and none of them seem to have suffered any particular injustice."

Qi Weiwei frowned upon hearing this.

Tang Tiantian probably isn't that kind-hearted; she wouldn't raise her child with her younger siblings and treat them equally.

“I lived in the courtyard next to hers. Aunt Wu, who lived in that courtyard, was a very talkative old lady,” Ling Heping continued, turning a page in his notebook. “I asked her if there were any strange things happening in the village, and she said no, except that Zhou Binwa’s family was always arguing, it was so noisy. But she said—”

He paused, then looked at Qi Weiwei: "Aunt Wu said she had never heard the sound of a baby crying from Zhou Binwa's house. She said that the Zhou family's daughters were all married and their children weren't around. Zhou's own youngest son is already eight years old. So the Zhou family doesn't have any babies at all."

Qi Weiwei's brows furrowed even more.

"So, what's it like when Tang Tiantian goes back to her parents' home?" she asked, her voice a little tense. "Has Aunt Wu ever mentioned it?"

Ling Heping nodded: "I was just about to say that; this is very strange."

He turned another page: "Aunt Wu said that ever since Tang Tiantian went to the city to 'enjoy life,' she has never returned to the Fengshou Brigade! Not even once!"

"What?!" Qi Weiwei suddenly stood up.

Her voice was so shrill that it startled everyone.